Whispers That Calm Us
by FirreFlye
Summary: [Just as Aang was about to mentally slap himself, the most beautiful noise interrupted him.][SECOND CHAPTER IS UP!] Post Ba sing se. Aang is having a meltdown over a certain waterbender. What will happen? Kataang Please R
1. Chapter 1

Whispers that calm us

It wasn't often he got to just sit and think. In those good days, before he knew he was the Avatar, before the war placed the weight of the world upon his young shoulders, he would often just sit and think about nothing in particular.

However, those days were long gone; easily lost, but not forgotten.

Aang was not the brooding type, but today he felt he had much reason to. Everything he had been working for- the past couple of months- seemed to have dissipated to nothing in mere hours. His progress with the Guru, the Crystal Catacombs, Azula's deadly fingers raised towards him levitating hundreds of feet from the ground, his almost encounter with death. In all fairness, Ba sing se had been a complete disaster and utter failure.

And it was all on him.

So now he lay, doing the one thing he never did; wallowing in negative thoughts. He was currently confined to an uncomfortable mat in one of the many Water Tribe tents. Katara's orders.

_"I don't care if he's behind on his training, he needs to rest."_

Aang almost smiled as he recalled the following days after the "incident". He had never seen Katara so protective before. Ever. She had towered over Aang almost possessively for hours on end, asking him constantly if he needed anything, if there was too much light in the tent, if the room was spinning at all...

In those first few days, Aang had been weak and tired, but his perception did not falter. Katara was starving herself to take care of him. After all he had put her through, he felt guilty to see her in such a condition at his expense.

Aang groaned as a familiar pang erupted in his chest; heart shuddering. The young Airbender knew well enough Azula's mark was not to blame for his pain.

_Katara_

Just the thought of her was enough to send him into a fit of tremoring pain and loss. He could quite literally curl into a ball and fade away. But he knew that was not an option. He was the Avatar, last hope for peace, savior of the world-

Aang shook his head violently, sweat dripping from his brow unto a soft lid. He did not feel like thinking about that sort of thing right now. In fact, he would much rather forget about it all. Besides, thinking never helped, it only brought more pain.

_You must let her go._

Aang did not even attempt to shove the thought back into the recesses of his mind. He had avoided the topic long enough. It was knawing at him, and his sanity was dwindling because of it.

The Guru had told him that in order to regain balance within himself and master the avatar state, he must clear all the chakras. But Aang had be less than willing to master the final level. It had involved giving up the one thing that had held him together for the past half year. The one person that had seen Aang, instead of the Avatar. Been his friend, confidant, and _never_ been afraid of him...

Aang sighed as Katara's image danced at the corners of his lids; teasing and tormenting him. The young Airbender fought with himself a minute before allowing himself to continue his rebellious thoughts. In the end, he had been forced to give up the girl, and then been struck down with immense pain.

Either way he looked at it, he was _always _going to lose. His heart trembled weakly.

Just as Aang was about to mentally slap himself for allowing himself to succumb to such self-inflicting pain, the most beautiful noise interrupted him.

Katara stood in the door way of his tent. His heart practically hummed.

"I brought you some water. It's getting kind of hot out." Then, with a grace he could only admire, she strode over to his mat and sat down; kindness gracing her face in all the right ways- making his heart leap pitifully.

Nodding his thanks, he gratefully took the cup from her outstretched hand and sipped casually. Casual was all he would allow himself afterall...

Long, elegant fingers fumbled with blue cloth nervously- almost anxiously. Grey eyes took this all in curiously, but made no move to point it out. Aang was now staring intently at his blankets; taking in every stitch as if it held some unkown riddle to the world.

A soft sigh and a tender touch interrupted his distraction however. Katara stared down at him; piercing his soul to oblivion. "So, how have you been sleeping?" Awkward, and an attempt at nonchalant. Katara once again looked nervous, and her darting eyes only reaffirmed Aang's suspicions.

Slowly, carefully. "I'm sleeping okay. My back isn't bothering me as much since we started the healing sessions." He gave her what he hoped was a reassuring smile.

Katara turned her head, profile only visible to the young monk. Eyes slightly wider than usual, she pressed on,"Are you sure?"

Aang didn't bother to look at her in fear it might give him away. Instead, he nodded solemnly; eyes locked on the ground. A moment of silence hung in the air; threatening to suffocate the two if none made move to speak. Finally someone did.

"I hear you talk in your sleep every night."

This time Aang's eyes grew wider, then they slowly closed. _What had he said? No, more importantly, what did she hear?_

Aang wanted to maintain the air of casualnesss he had managed up until that point, but he feared the situation was veering out of his control. A quiet _"oh" _was all he could muster.

An even longer silence pursued them both, before Aang's eyes slowly drifted to the Waterbender before him. He could feel her gaze burning into his flesh as he gathered the courage to do so. Sucking in a lungful of air, he bravely pursued," What did you hear?"

Katara's gaze did not relinquish. Her trance continued to lock Aang into the conversation that was quickly becoming very _uncasual._ "The first night, you were just whimpering-" She stopped suddenly, then continued on as if she had never paused. "But about a week ago... you started saying my name." Aang's heart dropped. It was all over-

"So, I'm going to ask you again. How have you been sleeping?"

Aang's mouth had run dry. The air in the room felt heavy and unbearable. _What had she heard? Had she really heard anything at all?_ Aang continued to mull over the possible answers he could give. He wasn't entirely sure of what to say. If she hadn't heard anything particularly devastating, he could get away with a simple lie, and never have to worry about it. But if she _had_ heard something, and she was simply toying with him for answers, then lying would only make it worse. He settled for lying.

"I told you, I've been sleeping great."

She let out a long, exasperated sigh. _This is it. She _knows _about everything, _thought Aang. Then, with the patience only an airbender could have, he waited for her to accuse him of lying. What happened instead was truely startling.

Katara, instead of speaking, simply rummaged around in her knapsack for a minute before she pulled out her waterskin. Then, turning to finally look him in the eye, she bent to his level and motioned for him to take his shirt off. He complied, and realising she was just going through another healing excercise, breathed lowly in relief.

She went about the normal routine, being extra careful and gentle as usual. Her soothing hands brought relief and peace to his aching nerves. Soon, Aang found himself drifting off into a contented sort of sleep. Just as he was about to leave the world that plagued his young mind, and was barely aware of his surroundings, he felt Katara's presence stand up and begin towards the tent entrance.

Slumber was taking him away quickly, but he fought it, just to see her leave. As she was about to close the flap however, she turned, and seeing his eyes closed, she must have assumed he was asleep. She looked torn; her brow creased in a way he had never seen before. Then, a sort of calm overcame her features, one that almost made him smile.

Just before she turned to leave she whispered softly, so softly he almost didn't hear it.

"I love you too."

His heart thundered loudly.

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**A/N:**

Okay, so I'm not very sure about this piece. One reason, is because _so many _people have done post ba sing se stories, and seeing as how I've already done a poem on it, I feel like this topic is kind of tired. But now I promise to bury it and move on to bigger and better ideas.

I had a hard time with the ending, but I like what I decided on.

I wrote this in about two days. Sorry it took so long to update.

I'm currently working on another fic, this time it will be a pre ba sing se. should be lots of laughs!

please review! Thanks for reading!


	2. Chapter 2Katara's Story

**Part Two**

One lone waterbender sat huddled in the corner of her tent; wrapped hastily in scratchy blue blankets. Black pitch engulfed her senses. The air was heavy with the stillness and silence that battle brought.

She sat statuelike, her breath coming now and then in ragged bursts. A rebellious tear welling in her eyes. She was sure the hour was late; her body's natural clock told her so. But the peace of slumber would not take her.

Katara's head hummed a miserable aching tune. In actuality, she was exhausted, but worry clouded her stupor. Sighing in her body's protest to move, the waterbender crept from her snug nest and out into the night. The sounds of snoring Watertribe men echoed across the small campsite. Katara took no notice of this however. She was deep in thought as she lithely made her way to one of the tents closer to shore; being careful not to make any sound whatsoever.

Finally reaching her destination, she slipped casually into the dark space. Soft, even breaths could be heard somewhere to the right of where she stood. Following the sound, she carefully shuffled past the entrance. Then, kneeling down, she pressed a palm forward; searching for a pale hand in the darkness.

When her hand finally came in contact with his, she sighed in relief. The boy's hand was soft, but clammy and hot; a fever plaguing his young body. As quickly as the calm had come, anxiety tooks it's turn. She swiftly ran her other hand to find his blistering forehead. Hoping the cool contrast of her fingertips would bring some relief to him, she cradled his head in her arms.

She sat cross-legged on the floor of the young monk's tent like that for several minutes; softly singing a tune to hopefully relax his contorted features. She could only wish he got a restful night of sleep, despite her inability to do so. As she attempted to bring peace to him- something she knew might not be possible given the situation, she herself could feel a veil being lifted from her eyes.

She had experienced this sensation a few times before, but none as strongly as now; as she cradled him like an infant in her arms. She felt clear to bursting, and was perfectly content with the idea of never leaving him. Now, as she thought about it, sleep would probably more easily come. What with the comfort and wellness she felt with his presence.

It had been several days since the incident (that was what they were calling it now), and in that time, Aang had only stirred long enough to down some water. She had been working diligently to heal the dark mark on his backside, but to no avail. _Perhaps_, she thought, _she would be successful once he regained conciousness._ However, he hadn't ever really awoken since she had used the spirit water to revive him. Trepidation flew over her nerves.

If he did not wake up soon, he would die.

Katara's eyes stung painfully; willing her to give in to her emotions. She shook her head bitterly. She wasn't going to begin thinking like that. He was _going _to wake upIncoherent mumbling.

The waterbender gasped suddenly, suprised by the contrast playing before her. Lying against her, Aang, who had been silent and unresponsive moments before, now writhed beneath her.

"No...mmm..."

Both excited and anxious by these events, Katara leaned closer. "What is it Aang? Can you hear me?" The young monk continued his sighing protests; battling an invisible force in his nightmarish dreams. Wishing to comfort, she came closer still, whispering so to soothe.

"Shhhh, it's alright Aang. I'm here."

Then, as if the words had convicted some foreign truth to him, he lay limp in her arms. Fearing the worst, Katara fumbled to find his heartbeat beneath his chest. To her relief, she found it beating steadily; his breath smooth and relaxed in turn. The peace upon his face brought a smile to Katara's lips, gracing her eyes as well. Then, he mouthed a contented and airy sigh; as if heaven had opened up to him.

"Katara."

Her heart skipped a beat. He had spoken clearly and audibly in his sleep. He had said _her _name. She could have flown ten feet in the air if it was possible. This could be the break through for him. He could have a chance of getting better-

"K-katara. please-", he whispered. His voice conveyed a feeling of loss and agony. Like it hurt him to say her name. She absolutely hated the idea of bringing him pain in such a way. She had to help him.

She softly replied, "It's alright. What is it? What do you need?"

The young waterbender hoped her voice sounded strong and comforting to him. But, she wasn't so sure herself. For a minute, Katara wasn't sure he was even still with her. But then, she heard him start again; the sleep making his words come out lazily. "Please, don't leave me."

"I won't, I promise. I'll stay as long as you need me to."

He was quickly losing his hold to reality, as the sleep began to pull him away once again. But he kept on, clearly needing to say something he didn't have time to; what with the exhaustion clouding his head. He whispered still even quieter,"Forever?"

She nodded her head. "Yes."

This seemed to be just what he needed. He began to slide off into his dreams; this time they held promises of happiness and freedom from darkness. Smile gracing his lips, he uttered his farewell, "Love you."

The teary-eyed Katara could only nod, mouth agape with astonishment. So little had been said, but the meaning of it all had been clear, and held so much to her. Pulling him farther into her embrace, she hugged him gently, hoping he could feel it wherever he was.

As she stood to make her way to her tent, she acknowledged that Aang was going to be alright. When she finally settled back into her blankets and had hidden herself in their familiar warmth, she could feel the hazy fog of sleep coming at long last. She smiled knowing that things were going to get better, now and _forever_.

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**A/N:**

Well, here's part two. Yes, I do plan on continuing this story. This will not be the last of it.

I had planned to make "Whispers that calm us" a oneshot, but then alot of people wanted to see a second chapter. So I did, but now I feel like the story could be touched upon just a tad more. I'm not sure how many chapters long it will be, but It will be atleast three chapters long.

This chapter was sort of like a flash back in Katara's point of view. I thought it was important for readers to understand her story as well.

Hope you liked it, and keep watching for more!

Tell me what you think.


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